New proposals for an Extra Care housing scheme in Gargrave are part of a number of measures which we are set to put in place to expand care services in the Craven area.
Members of the authority’s executive are being asked to approve proposals to go out to the market for a new Extra Care housing scheme that would deliver around 30 new homes for older people on a site at Eshton Road in Gargrave.
Subject to approval, community consultations and a procurement exercise will be launched for the Gargrave plans as we marks 20 years of Extra Care housing in North Yorkshire, with the intention to expand beyond the 28 schemes and 1,500 apartments and bungalows that are already in place countywide.
The schemes help people to remain living independently in their local communities and offer both purpose-built housing as well as care and support for residents, and some developments also host a local library, a shop or a café.
It is also expected that further accommodation for working-age adults with care needs will be built on different sites, including in Gargrave, in the future.
The move is part of our policy to provide more care for people in their own homes, and we have also been working with care providers to increase the home care services available in the area.
Under the plans for Craven, Neville House elderly people’s home in Gargrave will close on a planned basis, with the remaining residents being offered a move to a new home and care staff having the opportunity for other roles in the adult social care service.
Executive member for health and adult services, Cllr Michael Harrison, said: “The way we care for older and disabled people is changing in North Yorkshire as we work to help people live independently in their own homes for longer.
“Extra Care has been an enormous success over the past 20 years and our ambition is that Gargrave will now get one of these developments. We are also seeing an expansion of home care services locally, which is good news.
“These changes reduce the demand for traditional residential care homes and that, along with the outdated design and fabric of the building, mean that Neville House is no longer viable.
“We will work carefully to support each of the Neville House residents with the move to a new home. And we want to thank our staff and to help them move into new roles in social care.
“I recognise that Neville House is a much-loved part of the Gargrave community and we believe that a new Extra Care scheme will be a fitting 21st century successor to it. We look forward to talking with local people about our plans and how we can bring them to fruition.”
Consultations have now begun with all permanent residents and their families to find the most suitable alternative accommodation and it is anticipated Neville House will stop delivering services at some point in the autumn of this year. There would be capacity for all residents to move to another council-run home in Skipton, with their individual circumstances being taken into account.
We employ 26 staff at Neville House and they are also set to be consulted about their future, with alternative employment due to be offered within the authority wherever possible.
The new Extra Care development in Gargrave is expected to become operational in 2026 and the new arrangements should bring savings of £150,000 a year when the new arrangements are in place.